Deal stops strike at homeless charity

Published by Ross Macmillan for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Communities

A planned strike at a homeless charity has been called off after a deal was accepted by union members.

Centrepoint - which supports homeless young people - had wanted to increase the working week to 40 hours, make 34 redundancies and cut some salaries by 15 to 36 per cent. 

Unite members have settled their dispute and called off the action after a new deal was signed.

New directives include a 'no compulsory' redundancy policy and the confirmation of a 37.5 hours working week. The deal plans a five per cent reduction in salaries - capped for 15 months - rising to no more than 10 per cent after that date.

Unite regional officer Matt Smith said:  ”We are pleased that Centrepoint’s management listened to Unite and stepped back from the brink. We have negotiated the best possible deal for our members under the auspices of the conciliation service Acas.

“At our members’ union meeting we received overwhelming support for the recommended offer. We believe this was the best deal possible we could have achieved for our members working for this iconic charity.“

In September Unite members voted for strike action, but were challenged with legal action from Centrepoint.
 
Unite then re-balloted its members who voted by 55 per cent to 45 per cent for strike action this month. The action has now been called off.